Unfortunately, while we hope our flocks will be unified with love, many of us compete with each other and use unethical means to build our churches at the expense of other churches. Many of us avoid any fellowship with other pastors whose doctrine is different. We even advertise our lack of unity on signs we post for the world to see in front of our church buildings, sending a message to everyone: “We are not like those other Christians in other church buildings.” (And we’ve done a good job at educating the world on our lack of unity, as just about any unbeliever knows that Christianity is a very divided institution.)

In short, we don’t practice what we preach, and our example teaches our congregations much more than our sermons about unity do. It is foolish to think that average Christians are going to be unified and love each other when their leaders act differently.

The only solution, or course, is repentance. We must repent of setting the wrong example before believers and before the world. We must remove the barriers that divide us and start loving each other as Jesus commanded.

That means we must, first of all, meet with other pastors and ministers, including pastors of different doctrinal persuasions. I’m not speaking of fellowshipping with pastors who are not born again, who aren’t striving to obey Jesus, or who are in ministry for personal profit. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and Jesus told us exactly how to identify them. They are known by their fruit.

I am speaking, however, of pastors and ministers who are striving to keep Jesus’ commandments, true brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are a pastor, you should be committed to loving other pastors, demonstrating that love in practical ways before your flock. One way to start is by going to other pastors in your vicinity and asking their forgiveness for not loving them as you should. That should break down some walls. Then commit to meeting together regularly to have a meal, encourage and admonish one another and to pray. When that occurs, you might eventually lovingly discuss the doctrines that tend to divide you, striving for unity whether you ultimately agree or not on everything you discuss. My life and ministry were enriched significantly when I finally opened up to listen to ministers who were not in my same doctrinal camp. I was missing so much blessing for so many years by shutting myself off.

You can also demonstrate your love and unity by inviting other pastors to preach at your church or house church gathering. Or, your church can have combined meetings with other churches or house church gatherings.

You can change the name of your church so that it doesn’t advertise to the world your disunity with the rest of the body of Christ. You can pull out of your denomination or named association and identify only with the body of Christ, to send a message to everyone that you believe that Jesus is building only one church, not many different churches that can’t get along with each other.

This, I know, sounds radical. But why do anything to uphold what Jesus clearly never intended? Why be involved in anything that displeases Him? There are no denominations or special associations mentioned in Scripture. When the Corinthians divided over their favorite teachers, Paul firmly rebuked them, saying that their divisions revealed their carnality and spiritual babyhood (see 1 Cor. 3:1-7). Do our divisions reveal anything less?

Anything that sets us apart from one another should be shunned. House churches should avoid giving themselves names or joining any associations that have names. In Scripture, individual churches were identified only by the houses in which they met. Groups of churches were identified only by the cities in which they were located. They all considered themselves to part of the one church, the body of Christ.

There is only one King and one kingdom. Anyone who sets himself up so that believers or churches identify with him is building his own kingdom within God’s kingdom. He had better get ready to stand before the King who says, “My glory I will not give to another” (Is. 48:11).

All of this is to again say that ministers should be setting the right example of obedience to Christ before everyone, because people are going to follow their example. The example they live before others is their most influential means of teaching. As Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi:

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us (Phil. 3:17; emphasis added).

Stop and ask yourself this question: “Which kind of love would I rather people have for me—merciful love or approving love?” I’m sure you would prefer that people love you “because of,” not “in spite of.”

Would you rather hear your spouse say, “I have no reason to love you, and there is nothing about you that motivates me to show you my favor” or, “I love you for so many reasons, because there are so many things about you that I admire”? Of course, we would rather that our spouses love us with an approving love, and that is the primary kind of love that draws couples together and keeps them together. When there is nothing that a person admires in his or her spouse, when all approving love has ceased to exist, few marriages last. If they do last, the credit goes to merciful love, which stems from the godly character of the giver of that love.

All this being so, we see that approving, or conditional love, is not an inferior love at all. While merciful love is the most praiseworthy love to give, approving love is the most praiseworthy love to gain. Moreover, the fact that approving love is the only kind of love that the Father has ever had for Jesus elevates it to its rightful place of respect. God the Father has never possessed even a drop of merciful love for Jesus, because there was never anything unlovely in Christ. Jesus testified:

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again (John 10:17; emphasis added).

Thus we see that the Father loved Jesus because of Jesus’ obedience to die. There must be nothing wrong and everything right about approving love. Jesus earned and deserved His Father’s love.

Jesus also declared that he abided in His Father’s love by keeping His Father’s commandments:

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:9-10; emphasis added).

Moreover, as this scripture indicates, we are to follow Jesus’ example, and abide in His love by keeping His commandments. He is clearly speaking of approving love in this passage, telling us that we can and should earn His love, and that we may take ourselves out of His love through disobedience to His commandments. We abide in His love only if we keep His commandments. Such a thing is rarely taught today, but should be, because it is what Jesus said.

Jesus only affirmed God’s approving love for those who keep His commandments:

For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father (John 16:27; emphasis added).

He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him….If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him (John 14:21, 23; emphasis added).

Note in the second quotation, Jesus was not making a promise to uncommitted believers that if they started keeping His words, He would draw closer to them in a special way. No, Jesus was promising that if anyone would start loving Him and keeping His word, then His Father would love that person, and both He and His Father would come to live in that person, a clear reference to being born again. Everyone who is born again has both the Father and Son living in him by the indwelling Holy Spirit (see Rom. 8:9). So we again see that those who are truly born again are those who repent and begin to obey Jesus, and they are the only ones who thus gain the approving love of the Father.

Of course, Jesus still reserves merciful love for those who believe in Him. When they disobey, He is ready to forgive them if they will confess their sin and forgive others.

Contrary to what is often proclaimed about God’s love for sinners today, Scripture often states that God hates sinners:

The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit (Ps. 5:5-6; emphasis added).

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates (Ps. 11:5; emphasis added).

I have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. My inheritance has become to Me like a lion in the forest; she has roared against Me; therefore I have come to hate her (Jer. 12:7-8; emphasis added).

All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels (Hos. 9:15).

Note that all of the above scriptures do not say that God only hates what people do—they say He hates them. This throws some lights on the common cliché that God loves the sinner but hates the sin. We cannot separate a person from what he does. What he does reveals what he is. Thus God rightly hates people who commit sin, not just the sins people commit. If God approves of people who do what He hates, He is very inconsistent with Himself. In human courts, people are put on trial for their crimes, and they receive the just recompense. We don’t hate the crime but approve of those who commit crimes.

(1) Some ministers are like parrots, getting all their sermon material from books that others have written. They are missing out on a wonderful blessing of being personally taught by the Holy Spirit, and they are also likely to be propagating the errors of those they copy.

(2) Many pastors copy the preaching and teaching styles of other preachers, styles that are often purely traditional. For example, it is thought in some circles that sermons are anointed only when they are loud and fast. Church attendees are thus subject to sermons that are shouted from beginning to end. The reality is that people usually tune out redundant shouting, just like they do when they hear monotone speaking. A varied voice is much more captivating. Moreover, preaching is naturally louder as it is exhortational, whereas teaching is usually done in a more conversational tone because it is instructional.

(3) I’ve observed sermon-listeners in hundreds of church services, and it amazes me that so many preachers and teachers are oblivious to the many indications that people are bored and/or not listening. Pastor, the people who look bored are bored! Those who aren’t looking at you while you speak are probably not listening. People who are not listening are not being helped in the least. If sincere people are being bored and/or not listening, then you need to improve your sermons. Give more examples. Tell relevant stories. Make up parables. Keep it simple. Teach the Word from your heart. Be sincere. Be yourself. Vary your voice. Make eye contact with as many listeners as possible. Use some facial expression. Use your hands. Move around. Don’t speak too long. If the group is small, let people ask questions at any reasonable time.

(4) The idea that every sermon should have three points is just a human invention. The goal is to make disciples, not follow modern homiletic theories. Jesus said, “Feed My sheep,” not “Impress My sheep.”

It is very easy to deceive ourselves about our motives. I certainly have. How can we know if our motives are pure?

The best way is to ask God to reveal to us if our motives are wrong, and then to monitor our thoughts and deeds. Jesus told us to do good works such as praying and giving to the poor in secret, and that is one way to assure ourselves that we are doing good because we desire the praise of God rather than the praise of people. If we are only obedient to God when people are watching us, that signals something is very wrong. Or, if we avoid scandalous sins that would ruin our reputation if we were caught, but indulge in lesser sins that no one would likely ever know about, it shows our motivations are wrong. If we are truly trying to please God—who knows our every thought, word and deed—then we will strive to obey Him all the time, in things big and small, things known and unknown to others.

Similarly, if our motives are right, we will not follow church growth fads that serve only to increase church attendance at the expense of making disciples who obey all of Christ’s commands.

We will teach all of God’s Word and not just focus on popular topics that appeal to worldly and unspiritual people.

We will not twist God’s Word or teach scriptures in a way that violates their context within the whole Bible.

We will not seek titles and places of honor for ourselves. We will not seek to be known.

We will not cater to the wealthy.

We will not lay up treasures on earth, but live simply and give all we can, setting an example of good stewardship before our flocks.

We will be more concerned with what God thinks of our sermons than what people think.

How are your motives?

The disciple-making minister never teaches anything that works against the goal of making disciples. Thus, he never says anything that would make people feel comfortable with disobeying the Lord Jesus. He never presents God’s grace as a means to sin without fear of judgment. Rather, he presents God’s grace as a means to repent of sin and live an overcoming life. Scripture, as we know, declares that only overcomers will inherit God’s kingdom (see Rev. 2:11; 3:5; 21:7).

Some modern ministers, unfortunately, hold to unbiblical doctrines that do great damage to the goal of making disciples. One such doctrine that has become very popular in the United States is that of unconditional eternal security, or “once saved always saved.” This doctrine maintains that born again people can never forfeit their salvation regardless of how they live their lives. Because salvation is by grace, they say, the same grace that initially saves people who pray to receive salvation will keep them saved. Any other viewpoint, they maintain, is tantamount to saying that people are saved by their works.

Naturally, such a viewpoint is a great detriment to holiness. Since obedience to Christ is supposedly not essential for one to enter heaven, then there is little motivation to obey Jesus, especially when obedience is costly.

As I stated earlier in this book, the grace that God extends towards humanity does not relieve people of responsibility to obey Him. Scripture states that salvation is not just by grace, but also through faith (see Eph. 2:8). Both grace and faith are necessary for salvation. Faith is the proper response to God’s grace, and true faith always results in repentance and obedience. Faith without works is dead, useless, and cannot save, according to James (see James 2:14-26).

That is why Scripture repeatedly declares that continued salvation is dependent upon continued faith and obedience. There are scores of scriptures that make this abundantly clear. For example, Paul states in his letter to the Colossian believers:

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven (Col. 1:21-23, emphasis added).

It couldn’t be clearer. Only a theologian could mistake or twist Paul’s meaning. Jesus will confirm us blameless if we continue in the faith. This same truth is reiterated in Rom. 11:13-24, 1 Cor. 15:1-2 and Heb. 3:12-14; 10:38-39, where it is clearly stated that final salvation is contingent upon continuance in faith. All contain the conditional word if.

It is not just the teaching of unconditional eternal security that deceives people into thinking holiness is not essential for ultimate salvation. The love of God is often presented in a way that neutralizes disciple making. Preachers can often be heard saying to their audiences, “God loves you unconditionally.” People interpret that to mean, “God accepts and approves of me regardless of whether I obey or disobey Him.” That, however, is simply not true.

Many of those same preachers believe that God casts into hell people who are not born again, and they are certainly correct in their belief. Now let us think about that. Obviously, God doesn’t approve of people whom He casts into hell. So how can it be said that He loves them? Are people who are thrown into hell to suffer their just punishment, who will never experience eternal life, loved by God? Do you think they would tell you that God loves them as they are being cast into hell? Of course not. Would God say that He loves them? Certainly not. They are abhorrent to Him. He doesn’t approve of or love them.

This being so, God’s love for earthly sinners is clearly a merciful love that is only temporary, not an approving love. He has mercy on them, stalling His judgment and giving them an opportunity to repent. Jesus died for them, providing a way for them to be forgiven. To that degree and in that way, it could be said that God loves them. But He never approves of them. He never feels a love for them like a father feels for his child. Rather, Scripture declares, “Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:13; emphasis added). Thus it can be said that God does not have the same compassion on those who don’t fear Him. God’s love for sinners is more akin to the mercy a judge has on a convicted killer who receives a life sentence rather than the death penalty.

There is not a single case in the book of Acts where anyone preaching the gospel said to an unsaved audience that God loved them. Rather, the biblical preachers often warned their audiences about God’s wrath and called them to repent, letting them know that God did not approve of them, that they were in danger, and that they needed to make dramatic changes in their lives. Had they only told their audiences that God loved them (as do so many modern ministers), they may have misled their audiences into thinking that they were in no danger, that they were not storing up wrath for themselves, and that they had no need to repent.

The most popular American church-growth strategy is often referred to as the “seeker-sensitive” model. In this strategy, Sunday morning services are designed so that (1) Christians feel comfortable inviting unsaved friends, and (2) unsaved people hear the gospel in non-offensive terms to which they can relate and understand. Midweek services and small groups are reserved for discipling the believers.

By this means, some individual churches have grown quite large. Among American institutional churches, these may have the greatest potential to evangelize and disciple people, as long as everyone is incorporated into small groups (which they often are not) and discipled there, and as long as the gospel is not compromised (which it often is). At least seeker-sensitive churches have implemented some strategy to reach unsaved people, something that most institutional churches do not have.

But how does the American seeker-sensitive model compare with the biblical model for church growth?

In the book of Acts, God-called apostles and evangelists preached the gospel publicly and from house to house, accompanied by signs and wonders that attracted the attention of unbelievers. Those who repented and believed in the Lord Jesus devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and regularly met together in houses where they learned God’s Word, exercised spiritual gifts, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, prayed together, and so on, all under the leadership of elders/pastors/overseers. God-called teachers and prophets circulated among the churches. Everyone shared the gospel with friends and neighbors. There were no buildings to construct that would slow the church’s growth and rob God’s kingdom of the resources that would help spread the gospel and make disciples. Leaders were quickly trained on the job rather than sent off to seminaries or Bible schools. All of this resulted in exponential church growth for a limited season, until all the receptive people in a given area were reached.

By comparison, the seeker-sensitive model is normally void of signs and wonders, thus it lacks that divine means of advertisement, attraction and conviction. It depends heavily on natural means of marketing and advertising to attract people to a building where they can hear the message. The preacher’s oratory skills and his powers of persuasion are the primary means of conviction. How this differs from the methods of Paul, who wrote, “My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

In Christian bookstores across America and Canada, there are often entire sections of shelves devoted to books on church growth. These books and the concepts within them have spread around the world. Pastors are hungry to learn how to increase attendance at their churches, and they are often quick to adopt the advice of American mega-church pastors who are deemed successful by virtue of the size of their buildings and the number of people who attend on Sundays.

Those who are a little more discerning, however, realize that attendance and building size are not necessarily an indication of the quality of disciple-making. Some American churches have grown due to appealing doctrines that are a perversion of biblical truth. I’ve spoken to pastors all over the world who have been shocked to learn that multitudes of American pastors believe and proclaim that once a person is saved, he can never forfeit his salvation regardless of what he believes or how he lives his life. Similarly, many American pastors proclaim a watered-down gospel of cheap grace, leading people to think that they can gain heaven without holiness. Quite a few more proclaim a gospel of prosperity, fueling the greed of people whose religion is a means to gain more treasures that they can lay up on earth. Those are pastors whose church-growth techniques certainly should not be imitated.

I’ve read my share of books on the subject of church growth, and I have mixed feelings about them. Many contain strategies and advice that are, to some degree, biblical, making them worthwhile to read. But almost all are based on the 1700-year-old institutional church model, rather than on the biblical church model. Consequently, the focus is not on building the body of Christ through multiplying disciples and disciple-makers, but on building individual institutional congregations, which always requires bigger buildings, more specialized church staff and programs, and a structure that is more like a business corporation than a family.

Some modern church-growth strategies seem to suggest that church services be made more attractive for people who don’t want to follow Jesus, just for the sake of gaining numbers. They advise short, positive sermons only, non-expressive worship, lots of social activities, that money never be mentioned, and so on. This does not result in the making of disciples who deny themselves and obey all of Christ’s commandments. It results in professing Christians who are indistinguishable from the world and who are on the broad road to hell. This is not God’s strategy to win the world but Satan’s strategy to win the church. It is not “church growth” but “world growth.”

When comparing some seeker-sensitive churches with the biblical model, there are even more differences.

The apostles and evangelists in the book of Acts called people to repent, believe in the Lord Jesus and be baptized immediately. People were expected, at their conversion, to become disciples of Christ, meeting the conditions Jesus laid down for discipleship, enumerated in Luke 14:26-33 and John 8:31-32. They began loving Jesus supremely, living in His word, taking up their crosses, and giving up all their rights of possession, new stewards of that which now belonged to God.

The gospel that is often proclaimed in seeker-sensitive churches is different. Sinners are told how much God loves them, how He can meet their felt needs, and how they can be saved by “accepting Jesus as Savior.” After they pray a short “salvation prayer,” having never been told about counting the cost of discipleship, they are often assured that they are genuinely saved and solicited to join a class where they can begin to grow in Christ. If they do join such a class (many never return to church), they are often taken through a systematic learning process that focuses on gaining more knowledge of the church’s particular doctrines rather than becoming more obedient to Christ’s commandments. The pinnacle of this “discipleship” program is when the believer eventually starts to tithe his income to the church (to primarily pay for the mortgage and non-biblical staff salaries, what amounts to horrible stewardship, supporting much of which is not ordained of God and robbing that which God does want supported) and is led to believe that he has “found his ministry” when he begins performing some supportive role within the institutional church that is never once mentioned in Scripture.

What would happen if your nation’s government, concerned because there were not enough men volunteering for its army, decided to become “seeker-sensitive”? Imagine that they promised potential recruits that if they joined, there was nothing expected of them—their paycheck would be a free gift, unearned and unmerited. They could get up in the morning whenever they wanted. They could practice the training drills if they wanted to, but they had the option to watch TV instead. If war broke out, they could chose if they wanted to participate in battles or go to the beach. What would be the result?

No doubt the army’s ranks would swell! But the army would no longer be an army, unfit for its task. And that is what becomes of seeker-sensitive churches. Lowering the standards inflates Sunday attendance, but erodes discipleship and obedience. Those seeker-sensitive churches that attempt to “preach the gospel” on Sundays and “do discipleship” at midweek services find that they have a problem if they tell people at the midweek services that only Jesus’ disciples are going to heaven. People then feel as if they’ve been lied to on Sunday mornings. Thus such churches must deceive people at the midweek services as well, presenting discipleship and obedience as options rather than requirements for heaven-bound people.^[1]

I certainly understand that some institutional churches do incorporate aspects of the biblical model that others do not. Regardless, the biblical model is clearly the most effective in multiplying disciples and disciple-makers.

Why is the biblical model not followed today? The list of excuses seems endless, but in the final analysis, the reason the biblical model is not followed is because of tradition, unbelief and disobedience. Many say that the biblical model is an impossibility in our world today. But the fact is that the biblical model is being followed in many places around the world today. The explosive growth of the church in China over the past half-century, for example, is due to believers simply following the biblical model. Is God different in China than elsewhere?

All of this is to say that non-American pastors should beware of American church-growth methods that are being promoted around the globe. They would be much more successful in accomplishing Christ’s goal of making disciples if they pursued the biblical model of church growth.

^[1] Remember that the requirements that Jesus enumerated to be His true disciple in Luke 14:26-33 were not spoken to people who were already believers, as if He was offering them a second step in their spiritual journey. Rather, He was speaking to the multitudes. Becoming His disciple was the only first step Jesus offered, the step of salvation. This stands in contrast to what is taught in most seeker-sensitive churches.